The Underwater Forest
Rebecca MorrisMatt Howorth (Illustrator)

Oliver is fascinated by the ocean, and every year his mother, who is a marine scientist, takes him scuba diving on his birthday to see the underwater forest. The underwater forest of kelp is a magical place, with colourful sea creatures big and small. But as the weather starts to change, the underwater forest can't get the nutrients it needs to grow. Lots of sea urchins move out of their crevices and start to eat the underwater forest. Oliver is shocked to see on his next birthday that thousands of hungry urchins have eaten all the kelp. The only way to help the underwater forest is to reduce the number of urchins, but there are too many for marine scientists to collect. When people start fishing the urchins to sell for food, the number of urchins is quickly reduced. Oliver is surprised that people can eat the spiny urchins! With fewer urchins, Oliver's mother can then restore the underwater forest. This educational picture book, based on real-life research, will aid children learning about the environment and what they can do to help. As all the profits from this book will go to the Native Australian Animals Trust Marine Fund at The University of Melbourne to support marine research, readers will be physically and actively supporting research too.